I am happy to start the discussion on the
future of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common
Security and Defence Policy in Europe.

Europe
is changing and this is not
news any more.

From
the very beginning, the EU has been a promise of prosperity; a belief
that the interdependence will reduce tensions and will lead to
economic growth.

Today,
we are facing a different picture. European societies are no longer
satisfied with what
was enough before.

What
we see is declining unemployment, while increasing insecurity in our
countries; we see rising budgets and, at the same time, diminishing
trust in the institutions.

That
is why one of the most important tasks for us, as parliamentarians,
is to understand the change of public attitudes. Economic growth and
declining unemployment are no longer winning elections, they are not
satisfying the Europeans any more. Citizens are demanding something
else: they want security. They understand that the situation in the
world is different, and that the new times bring new dangers that can
disrupt what we
in Europe have achieved.

Photo: Desislava Kulelieva

As
politicians, we need to understand and embrace this need for a Europe
that protects.

It is
a Union that knows how to guard its external borders, a Union, which
has the vision of keeping peace in its closest neighborhoods, and a
Union that has the resources and determination to intervene in
international conflicts in order to preserve its interests.

As you
all understand, this requires enhanced cooperation in the field of
security and defense.

Not
only Europe has changed, however. The whole security environment
around us has changed.

Some
10 years ago the EU was the only possible model for rapid
development, today it is not.

International
terrorism has reached our streets and neighborhoods. Networks of
extremists are trying to infiltrate our societies and we are still
struggling to find the right answer.

Thousands
of refugees and migrants are testing our physical borders and the
limits of the European humanitarian
potential.

And
we do not have a unified response.

All
this requires that Europeans realize the need for a major upgrade of
our security cooperation. EU countries can no longer rely on someone
else to take care of our own security, especially in the face of all
these challenges.

We need to respond with a clear commitment from all
Member States to improve cooperation.

We
have made the first step with PESCO as a midterm goal. Short-term
steps may be faster exchange of intelligence, clear analysis of what
we lack, and possibly finding appropriate relations with the UK after
Brexit, or non-EU countries.

Presidency Troika : Heads of the Delegations of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia and European Parliament Photo: National Assembly

Ladies
and Gentlemen,

We
do not need to look further than our front door if we are seeking to
hone our skills in foreign and defense policy.

More than anywhere else, the EU is competing for influence in the
Balkans.

And our policy must respond to this changed environment.

The region already has problems with organized crime. It is also
vulnerable to the influence of extreme religious ideologies. The
countries in the Western Balkans are part of the refugee routes.

Photo: National Assembly

That
is why it is of the
utmost importance for
us to find the necessary instruments to make sure that these
countries do not fail. There is a political momentum in the region to
cease the opportunity and change the history of the Balkans: from a
source of problems to a region that could be part of the solutions.

It
is of particular importance for us to ensure that all those who want
to join the EU truly share our European values, particularly when it
comes to foreign and security policy.

Failure
to do that will make
the EU less capable of taking important decisions and will endanger
its global role. Therefore, we must pay special attention to the
alignment of CFSP positions by the candidate countries.

We
should have no illusions: the societies of the Western Balkans are
pragmatic. One of the possible approaches to them is a fair and open
conversation on security issues.

We should state that the solution to
problems, such as terrorism and the management of migration flows, is
not in the hands of any individual country.

In the case of the
countries of the Western Balkans, a failure to do that could pose a
real threat to the stability of the countries in the region, but also
for the EU. That is why cooperation in foreign and security policy is
a desired option for both sides.

I
hope that during the next two days we will debate in more detail all
these challenges.

Change
is the only inevitable thing in our life, thus we need to try to
embrace it in our policies.

Thank
you, ladies and gentlemen.

The Team of Ms. Grozdanova for preparation of the event. From the left : Elena Naydenova, Vladimir Beron, Dr. Dzhema Grozdanova - the Chairperson of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Latchezar Toshev, Antonia Parvanova, Desislava Kulelieva(phtographer), Stefka Ivanova, Maria Grouycheva.

Introductory speech of Mr. David
McAllister

Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament

It is a great pleasure to see you all today. Thank
you for being here in Sofia for two days
of intense discussions - indeed we have a very interesting and dense
programme!

I would like tocongratulate the Bulgarian Presidency on
the efficient organisation of this Conference and thank our hosts for the
warm welcome; in particular, I would like to express my gratitude to Ms Dzhema
Grozdanova, the Chairwomen of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for the good
cooperation in the preparation of this Conference.

﻿

David McCallister, Photo : National Assembly

I am very happy to
see that we will discuss so many topics related to this region and its impact
on European security. It is always important to look from the regional
perspective and learn from the regional cooperation success stories.

A few months ago, in Tallinn, we mostly focussed on the
European Union’s immediate neighbourhood.
This week, we will prioritise wider,
global issues whilst also addressing the Balkans,
the Black Sea region and current developments in security and defence.

As you may
know, the six Balkan countries are very
dear to me. It is evident that they could turn into Europe’s Achilles heel
if we, politicians on the both sides, do not live up to our responsibilities. Only by making difficult choices can we
ensure democracy and lasting peace on our continent.

For some,
riding waves of populist nationalist rhetoric looks more appealing than making
bilateral concessions for stable and prosperous neighbourhood; drawing red
lines – more tempting than resolving border disputes; glorifying history –
easier than judging war criminals. As citizens feel uncertainty about the
future, it is easy to offer imaginary quick fixes, which breed nationalism and xenophobia.

It took the
European continent too long to start learning from own mistakes, so let’s not
repeat them again. We therefore need a
coherent and holistic internal, neighbourhood and foreign policy approach.
Our neighbours face exactly the same challenges and threats as we do: migration
flows, foreign interference, disinformation, propaganda. We can only tackle
them together.

Step by step, we must more firmly embed the
Western Balkans into the fabric of EU processes and structures, be it through co-operation with EU agencies,
participation in the EU’s policies and programmes or involvement into the EU’s
CSDP missions and operations. In this regard, I welcome the ideas spelled out
in the new Western Balkans Strategy of the European Commission.

Let us not forget that every enlargement
(since the first one 45 year ago) is an opportunity for the EU to renew and
reform itself, and the
ongoing accession process is not an exception.

14 years ago
the EU underwent its biggest-ever enlargement- In 14 years from now, the EU
will yet again have a different shape and form. Let’s bear in mind the profound
changes that Europe and the world went through from the first enlargement of
the European Communities in 1973 to its latest round in 2013.

As regards
the soon-to-be members, there can be no
shortcuts for the rules and values which are at the very core of the EU and
thus non-negotiable. Let me underline
that there can be no double standards - we in the Union must live up to the
same ones we expect our partners to follow.

I welcome the action-oriented Bulgarian focus
on the Western Balkans,
which I am sure will be further pursued by our Austrian and Romanian friends.

Bulgaria itself is a case of a positive
EU-supported transformation,
and it is leading by example on the good neighbourly relations, as the recent
ratification of the Friendship Agreement with the FYROM demonstrates.

Bulgaria, which joined the EU eleven years ago and
continues its profound transformation triggered by the EU membership, is well placed to make 2018 a year of
breakthroughs, ushering irreversible positive changes in the enlargement
countries. EU membership is not an end in itself - it is a path towards
peaceful, democratic, open and prosperous societies.

The parliamentary dimension is an essential
component of the accession process, not least because parliamentary consent
is required for such fundamental decisions as the enlargement. Let me assure you
of the European Parliament’s continued support in your engagement with South
East Europe. Let’s do everything in our hands to ensure we enlarge the circle
of effective democracies (and not “defective democracies”).

Furthermore, I
would like us to reflect upon the EU’s
role as a global actor and about our
responsibility that results from this aspiration, but also about the nature of our multipolar world and about
the rules that shape the global order today. I believe the ongoing shift in the
global balance of power requires the EU member states to act more as a
collective on the world stage.
The multilateral system can no longer rely on top-down solutions for global
problems.

I guess all
of us are happy to see that the EU has made progress on building a more
competitive and integrated defence last year.Finally, the Permanent Structured
Cooperation (PESCO) was established. 25 member states decided to strengthen
cooperation in this area. That was a very important step indeed. Now this
new cooperation framework needs to be filled with life. 2018 will be crucial
for further progress in this area.

2018 will also
be a crucial year for EU foreign policy because
we will start the deliberations on the
EU's financial resources for the post-2020 period. The Commission will put
forward its proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the next
generation of external financing instruments before the summer. The outcome of
the ensuing negotiations between the Member States and the European Parliament
will be decisive for the EU's ability to exert influence and promote its values
in its wider neighbourhood and on the global stage.

I firmly believe that the EU needs to be
endowed with sufficient resources for its external action. The recent mid-term review of the financing
instruments has shown that these instruments are by and large effective in
promoting the EU's foreign policy interests. Therefore, despite Brexit the financial allocations for these
instruments should at the very minimum remain constant if not increased. We
simply cannot afford to lose further influence at a time when other players are
massively stepping up their global engagement in ways that often run counter to
our interests.

In the meantime, I look forward to all the other debates we are about to hold during this
conference. I take this opportunity to reiterate the importance for us, as parliamentarians, to actively engage
in the debate on our common European foreign and security policy, both at EU
and national levels.

Thank you
very much and I wish us all an excellent conference!

Workshop :

Strategic Energy and Transport Connectivity in the Western Balkans.

Moderator: Mr. Assen Agov

Speakers :

Mr. Goran Svilanovic,Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Serbia